We tend to go through life, playing it small and remaining in our comfort zone, tip-toeing our way through life making it safely to our death beds, but please do not forget death can come for us at any time.

We are all taught to go to school, get a good ‘secure’ job, pay the bills, run the rat race lifestyle and then retire so we can live off our pension, so we can wait until death takes us. That’s what our parents and grandparents did right? But times have changed dramatically and besides, I don’t know about you but that seems pretty sh*t to me!

For me I stopped paying into the pension after a year of being in the police service, instead, I ensured that no one but me, would be in control of my finances and future and I must say that is a reassuring feeling.

Now I have already mentioned death can come for us at any time, but let me ask this: Are you willing to die for your job as a police officer?

Seriously, are you willing to risk everything for your job, because if you’re not, then a reality check may be needed? You see, your chances are dramatically increased, as a police officer, due to the nature of the job of either getting seriously injured or being killed. (Not to mentioned suicide rates within the police service.)

And you may say, “Yeah, but Alex, anyone could die at any moment.” And you’re right. I for one could get hit by a bus tomorrow. But as I’ve mentioned, your chances of being a police officer, are seriously increased because you just put yourself in harm’s way, because that’s your job. Plus, police officers can develop mental health issues too which can alter or sadly end their lives.

More than 4,000 police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1792, which is a phenomenal amount. However, the risk of being seriously injured or killed is just one element of risk, in life. As a police officer, you signed up knowing that there is a risk of the worst happening.

So, my next question to you would be, if you are already aware of your increased chances of dying or being seriously injured in the job, what else can life threaten you with? If you’re willing to risk life itself, then pursuing a life to live your dreams as a successful entrepreneur and becoming your own boss should have you laughing in the face of that risk!

Having a job as a police officer, you can expect to have some surprises along the way. However, there’s still a bit of a fixed routine of going to work and dealing with the same old issues, whatever offence they may be. Going through the same old issue for the duration of your life, when you aren’t truly happy in doing so, is a living death! Going through life, playing it small and remaining in your comfort zone is like a living corpse, like a zombie, mindlessly drifting day in, day out towards the ultimate ending for us all anyway, which is death!

Think about it, you’re not taking any risk to live a life of your dreams, to ultimately die anyway! It makes no sense to me. The minute you are born, sh*t got risky for you, because that’s when you started to die. The clock started to tick, and it all became very risky.

You see, falling in love is risky, marriage is risky, having children is risky, investing your money is risky, business is risky, but the ultimate risk is not living a life you truly want, because I’m sorry to say, I believe that we only get one chance at this thing called life and if you believe otherwise, that’s great, but I truly believe we don’t and time is something you’ll never get back.

While I was on duty, in the police service, I was engaged in a conversation with an ex-colleague. She was so fixed in her mindset about risk, that she became very bitter and negative about it. Now, at the time I had just started my business. I was full of enthusiasm and excitement, as you do. She said to me, “Alex, don’t you think what you’re doing is risky?”

I paused for a minute. I was shocked, because this colleague constantly moaned about her job, all the time on each shift. She would say things like, “Oh, my annual leave hasn’t been accepted again, they’re always changing policy or they’re such a bad employer.”

To me, she was just playing the victim.

I replied to her and said, “Look, I can fail at so many things in life. So, I may as well take a chance on something I enjoy doing, instead of working in a job until I’m an old man, and it’s too late.”

Now, she didn’t reply and instead walked off. I think the point came across to her, but unfortunately, in her mind, she thought it was just too late. In order for you to have a sense of fulfilment in your life, you’re going to have to get out of your comfort zone and take risks and once you do, you will expand your whole life, and get more out of it!

I just truly hope that you understand that if you want a life of your dreams, you’re going to have to take an element of risk, a calculated risk.

There is one thing that will happen in your life that you will die with if you do not take risks to build a life that you truly want for yourself and your family. That one thing is regret.

Recently, a young friend of mine passed away in his 30s who worked as a police officer. He was kind, funny, positive and loved his job.

This made me realise, which is pretty obvious, but it brings home the point that we can’t control when death will come for us. It can come at any time. And I’m not saying that he died with regret, but I am saying that if I were to die right now and get hit by a bus, I would definitely die with regret.

I know that if I don’t jump and take risks in my life, then I’m going to live a life full of regret. Regret is an awful thing to experience, especially when you can’t do anything about it. I don’t wish it upon anyone. Don’t look back on your life and wish you had more time because it will never happen. So utilise the time you have now to ensure you do not live a life with regret. Regret weighs tons, and commitment only weighs ounces.

Every successful person has jumped, and if you want to become successful, so do you. Your parachute may not open right away, and that is completely normal, but eventually, it will and when it does, your life will never be the same again.

Remember, nothing great was ever achieved in your comfort zones. I believe you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

So take a risk on your own abilities and change your life in a remarkable way without worrying about your pension and build your own business. Your pension is not going anywhere, you can still access it when you get to a certain age. Do not let it confine you to unhappiness, life is too short to remain unhappy and besides once being in business you will soon realise that pension isn’t so important anymore, because you have gained much more by your own efforts!

If you would like to find out more about becoming your own boss and running your own successful business, so you can live life on your terms, then click here to find out how Shifts to Success can make that happen.